Consultation Report

Eden Prairie United Methodist Church

 May 17, 2012

On April 20-22, 2012, the Healthy Church Initiative Consultation Team consisting of Dennis Alexander Diane Owen, and Pat Hinker, conducted the weekend consultation for Eden Prairie UMC. We reviewed the congregational self-study, the report of the mystery guest audit, and the results of the Natural Church Development (NCD) survey. We conducted nine individual interviews with the clergy, paid staff and various lay leaders. We held two focus groups, one with 14 persons representing a cross-section of the congregation and another with members of the Church Ministry Council. We also received input during a congregational gathering in which 26 people attended. We were present to observe the Sunday morning educational time, fellowship time, and morning worship. The Healthy Church Initiative has named five key factors to a congregation’s effectiveness and vitality.  The consultation team used these as a lens to assess what they heard, and to make their recommendations.  These factors are:

·         Purpose:  a clear sense of why this church exists, what they want to accomplish, a genuine outward focus and grounded in a

       clear set of shared values.

·         Structure: staff is accountable and empowered to fulfill their responsibilities in the context of healthy relationships with lay

       leadership; a future oriented church board focused on the ends, not the means of ministry.

·         Connectedness: a high level of community in which people feel connected and newcomers can easily find their way in, excellent

       facilities that work well to facilitate ministry.

·         Contemporary: music that regardless of style, is contemporary in its execution, relevant biblical preaching, clear understanding of

       the community and its needs.

·         Passion: a genuine excitement about the church and strong desire to invite others; a sense of call to serve the community.

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS

Eden Prairie UMC is a program sized church with a membership of 469 and an average worship attendance of 196. The church received a new pastor in 2011, Rev. Dan Schneider-Bryan. Eden Prairie UMC has a long list of positive assets upon which to build including: a welcoming, caring, and accepting congregation with many talented, gifted, and creative lay persons, an intergenerational mix of people which enjoy fellowship & acts of service together, a gifted staff, an established music and drama program, various small group opportunities, recent advancements in the incorporation of technology including Power Point projection, and the new energy, people-orientation, and passion of Pastor Dan Schneider-Bryan.

Within the past year, the average worship attendance has risen from 188 to 196. 2011 ended with a positive net income with all apportionments paid in full and all outstanding debt eliminated. Younger families have been attending and several have recently joined the church. On a typical Sunday, five new guests visit the church and are actively received by a renewed emphasis on welcoming and sharing genuine hospitality. There is in place a committed staff serving the infants, children, and youth of this growing church. The people of Eden Prairie UMC seek to be inclusive and they celebrate diversity; all are welcome. There is a profound respect for difference, it’s a safe place to bring your questions, and each person is challenged to explore their personal journey of faith. It’s an active spiritual community where people are engaged in making a different in their local community and world through various forms of service, mission, and generosity.

While Eden Prairie UMC is a profoundly resourced, gifted, and healthy congregation, there is a persistent attitude of scarcity and a feeling of inadequacy when they compare themselves to a large cluster of mega-churches that surround them. Looking in the rear-view mirror, some remember well when they had close to twice the members, two full worship services & Sunday Schools, and the service of two full-time pastors.  When asked to find themselves on the Church Lifecycle, most church leaders identified Eden Prairie UMC as over the peak and the declining side of the lifecycle somewhere between maturity and empty nest. It’s a place where the church has plateaued, feels comfortable and stable, not facing any immediate crisis, but could easily decline again and ignores the vast surrounding population of Eden Prairie that has needs, seeks an experience of God, and wants to connect with an authentic, relevant and intimate community of faith. In its present state of stability and healthy, it’s the perfect time for Eden Prairie to begin a new lifecycle which focuses on a renewed vision, a claimed identity and seeks to establish meaningful relationships that reach out beyond the immediate church family into its surrounding community. The vast majority of persons when asked: “How willing are you to change things here at your church and how much do you think the church is willing to change as a whole?” (with 10 being totally willing) indicated somewhere between 7-10.

There are challenges that need to be faced and dealt with, but the assets, giftedness, and surrounding opportunities for ministry far outweigh whatever concern these challenges may pose. The faith, commitment, generosity, and creativity of the people of Eden Prairie UMC can easily match the demands that any challenge requires. You have affirmed over and over again – that this is God’s family, God’s work, God’s mission in this place. When God calls, God supplies all that is needed no matter how insurmountable the challenge appears. Sometimes, the hardest time to respond to God’s calling to act and change is when there is a feeling of comfort and contentment.

STRENGTHS

1.       Warmly, receiving and welcoming guests with an intimate family atmosphere and genuine hospitality. You make it feel like home.

2.       Open, inclusive and safe place for people of differing lifestyles, ages, theological perspectives, and cultural differences.

3.       Passionate heart for service and mission expressed locally and throughout the world.

4.       Strong core of leaders and committed staff

5.       Financially stable: debt-free, balanced budget, apportionments paid, and a growing congregational trust fund.

CHALLENGES

1.       Clarifying your vision, claiming and sharing your unique identity, and fostering greater participation with your community.

2.       Volunteer recruitment, leadership development, accessibility to ministry opportunities, and a transparent understanding of how the church

       organization functions collaboratively are pieces that are either weak or missing.  

3.       Few adult spiritual faith formation opportunities.

4.       Current communication systems, both internal and external, are inconsistent, not reaching effectively the whole congregation or community,

       and not making the best use of the latest technology.

5.       While the facility is well-maintained, but it is not as welcoming as it could be. It is cluttered. There is precious little room for storage. The

       current amount of space for programming is almost exhausted.

STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATIONS

One: Claim your unique identity and define a clear vision.

You did an excellent job of visioning in 2005; it’s time to vision again. To get clear about: who you are, what are your

core values, what is God calling you to do in this time/place and with whom, where are you headed and how are you going to get there?

1)      By September 15^th, 2012, hold a day of visioning where congregational leaders explore the current mission, vision, and values in

       light  of the demographic information and self-study report prepared by the HCI team. Identity the mission field and target population

       that provide focus for the outreach efforts of EPUMC.

·         Prepare for this day of visioning by getting out into the community and having conversations with residents, associations, clubs, business’s, and service organizations thus expanding on the information revealed in the self-study report to further determine needs and gaps.¹

2)      Launch the vision. Prepare a strategy to communicate to the wider congregation the vision through various methods including sermon

       series, small groups, printed and web-based articles.

3)      Align church activities and ministry with the vision. Incorporate conversations about the vision and strategy into Church Ministry

       Council meetings on a regular and planned basis. Develop and share the plan to align the budget process with the vision. Guide leaders

       in sharing these conversations at the committee, ministry team, and task group levels.

Two: Build upon your ministry with your community

Eden Prairie has consistently been listed as “a best place to live” by Money Magazine. While experienced a profound population growth moving from 2,000 residents in 1960 to over 60,000 in 2000, most recently the population of Eden Prairie has begun to decline, has grown older, and the minority population has increased to over 20% non-white. Families living below the poverty rate make up 4.5% of the population. Although the population is expected to decline over the next five years, two age groups are projected to increase in population 22-29 year olds and 55-84 year olds. Given the changing diversity within the community, there has been a recent sense of divisiveness. Many have affirmed that Eden Prairie UMC offers a well-planned traditional worship experience with a highly relational pastor aided by good music and technology. But how widely does the worship experience appeal across generations and various spiritual types? Given your community, is God calling you to expand your worship offerings in response to the needs of a diverse population?

1)      During the summer of 2012 in preparation for your visioning day, continue to go beyond your walls in visiting and listening to your

       community and research what other churches & community organizations are already doing in the community

2)      By your visioning day, identify those to whom God is calling you to engage with. For whom does your heart break?

·         Consider reading Renovate or Die by Bob Farr or Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain as resources for discernment and discovery around who you are to reach out and share the intimacy of EPUMC.

3)    By July 2013, plan intentional outreach ‘just for them’ events targeting your community audience

4)    Develop a marketing plan and communication strategy by January 2013 to raise awareness, create your

       “brand” around a “place called home” (or something that identifies and invites), and invite those you are

       targeting.

·         As part of the planning for marketing and communication, develop a task force who evaluates current communication methods and makes recommendations for change or improvement as the overall strategy is developed.

·         It should include signage that is more visibly seen from the road and at places to provide clear direction.

·         Website improvements that include elements of your vision, who you are trying to reach, your unique identity, and what you have to offer. Begin using other social media tools to reach out to others. Consider a short-term contract to engage a professional webmaster to complete this work.

·         Include a technology audit to determine what technology updates are needed in all ministry areas. This is closely linked to marketing and communication efforts but could easily be addressed in the facility recommendation.  

5)    By Fall 2013 you will have two distinctive and different worship services in place: one designed to appeal to the more traditional

       Sunday worshipper not unlike your current service and another service designed to reach new people in your community. The more

       traditional Sunday service will have many of the same elements that are now in place but may incorporate new and different elements

       to ensure the service is current and relevant. The second service will be designed as a way of offering a new audience a worship

       experience that may have a different style and may be offered at a different time – all to invite and attract new people. This may require

       some degree of additional staffing needed to address the unique requirements of the new audience. A possible source of start-up

       funding could be an “Investing in Congregations” grant.²

Rationale: In meeting with members and staff of the church, it was clear that individuals felt that the second service on Sunday morning did not have the same energy and critical mass as the first service. The consulting team also experienced this difference when attending both services. This was further reinforced by the Faith Perceptions feedback. Although the second service was not ineffective, the consulting team felt that it was redundant and a better use of the resources – time and energy of those participating in the service – could be focused elsewhere.

A way forward: To reach the recommended goal of two distinctive services, consider . . .

·         You currently have one service from May – October of the year. Do not return to two services in October but maintain one service. This will release resources to begin the work of preparing for a distinctive second service.

·         As you survey the community and engage in the visioning process, you will begin to discover individuals and groups that may be seeking a church home or a different worship opportunity. This discovery could inform the creation of the alternative and different worship experience, one that would respond to the needs of these seekers in addition to the members of EPUMC. Also consider researching other successful alternative worship services that may guide you in the development of this new service. There are many other options in the metro that could provide a platform for new service offerings – style, day, time - in Eden Prairie.

·         As you survey and vision, you may discover the need to make subtle changes to the more traditional Sunday service. This service appeals to a wide range of individuals, members and visitors, but can you try new elements at this service that could possibly help you test elements for an alternative service? What can you learn from the Faith Perceptions survey that will guide you in making improvements in this service?

·         As you work with one service on Sunday, you will have the opportunity to develop adult faith formation opportunities. Again, resources will become available during the time that you have one service on Sunday mornings and these resources can be deployed to a study, class, and small group faith formation options.

6)  By January 2014, develop a unique signature ministry with the community, something that EPUMC will

become known for throughout the community. Do this in partnership with the community. Although

different opportunities to serve are compelling to the passions of individual members, identity a ministry

that the greater congregation can rally around and that supports the vision of EPUMC.

Three: Develop a culture of shared ministry

You have created an excellent model for recruiting, training, collaborating and rotation with a three-term Lay Leader Office. This model serves you well. But there are other offices that are unfilled, some persons who are overcommitted and tired, staff that are working overtime and assigned to tasks that members could be doing. New persons can have

difficulty finding places where their skills/talents are valued and trying to enter into an established group can prove troublesome for them. A culture and systems of shared ministry is needed.

1)      By January 2013, assess and create avenues of access to new opportunities for hands-on ministry opportunities that supports your

       vision.

·         Evaluate whether current committees and teams adequately support the emerging vision. Consider short-term actions teams that allow more participation.

·         Develop a leadership development process.

o   Carefully communicate the structure, leadership opportunities, and the process for participating.

o   Consider a training orientation annually for all leaders and committee members to share vision, expectations, and create alignment around the work of the teams.

o   Consider a ministry fair where others can learn more about the opportunities to serve and learn at EPUMC.

·         Create ways that people can discover, claim, and exercise their unique spiritual gifts for ministry.

o   Consider a spiritual gifts inventory process that goes beyond the assessment stage and connects people’s passion and gifts with the opportunities to serve.

o   Don’t forget the power of kids to lead worship, greet, usher, and serve. One first-time guest wrote: “I always like it when kids say good morning….kids can’t fake it.”

2)      By March 2013, develop an assimilation process for guests, regular participants, and new members

·         Each ministry area would develop a system of inviting and assimilating new people into their mission. (This would include choirs, groups, teams, committees.)

·         Read the book: Fusion: Turning First-time Guests into Fully-engaged Members by Nelson Searcy.

3)      Evaluate current staff structure in light of vision and all recommendations by January 2013.

·         Add the shared ministry coordinator functions within your staffing configuration. A possible source of start-up funding could be an “Investing in Congregations” grant.

·         The Staff Parish Relations Committee needs to review job descriptions to determine if certain roles and responsibilities need shifting to members and ministry teams. Make sure you have structured expectations and responsibilities realistically and fairly.

o   Are there special events or projects that need the attention of a short term action team such as

organizing supplies and historical documents, handling the Wednesday night “souper suppers”, supporting women’s ministry events? It would appear that these types of events are sometimes shifted to staff already working at or beyond capacity.

·         Examine if the current lay caring ministry (Befrienders) is working closely with the pastoral care provided by Pastor Dan. How can more members become involved in providing care to the members/friends of EPUMC?

Four: Develop a spiritual formation system for children, youth, confirmands and adults.

The recent Natural Church Development survey indicated that your minimum factor was Passionate Spirituality. Rather than looking at your Discipling System within “segregated age segments”, it would be helpful to look at your system as a continuous whole from birth to death. How do we help people develop faith all along the age spectrum and in various settings - linking what we do together as a whole? Just as in worship, how does the staff collaborate together to grow disciples? How do we also accommodate various spiritual types in our system? One of the most meaningful insights made by a 41-year old female first-time guest to Eden Prairie UMC was “If felt more like a church for people that have been attending for a long time than a place where new people could explore their faith.”

During the program year 2012-2013:

1)      Affirm the value of spiritual formation for all ages and utilize Christian Education Field Staff to help you work out specific

       methodologies for coordinated, meaningful and active participation.

·         Review the roles and responsibilities of staff and members to ensure that the best possible structure is in place for aligning and accomplishing an effective, collaborative ministry among children, youth, and their families.

·         Develop a team that is specifically focused on a plan of engagement for graduating confirmands.

2)      Develop and implement a variety of adult faith formation experiences, for varying spiritual types (as identified by the work of Corrine

       Ware & Dan Dick³), at varying times, both short and long term and low and high commitment. Encourage development of small

       groups around a shared interest or issue that facilitates their spiritual journey and faith development. This could include such offerings

       as short-term Bible and book studies, Companions in Christ, Walk to Emmaus, Covenant Discipleship groups, Disciple Bible Study,

       and centering prayer.  

·         Consider forming spiritual groups within each of the four quadrants of Covenant Discipleship model:

devotion, compassion, worship, and justice; also consider forming a Covenant Discipleship group for church leaders.

·         Consider guiding current groups (committees, teams, choirs, etc.) to include practices that would provide spiritual nurture and faith formation in addition to carrying out their specific ministry. 

Try the Kaleidoscope Bible Study and Mutual Invitation⁴ process to lead this faith formation time.

3)      Develop intergenerational spiritual formation experiences, such as family retreat weekend, camping, and intergenerational learning

       events.

Five: Align plans for facility improvements with your emerging vision and strategic plan

Begin to see your property through the eyes of your first time guests. Is your space inviting, warm, attractive,

up-to-date, organized, uncluttered? Is there room for all the programming you would like to do? Have you made your

exceptional campus which includes a labyrinth, amphitheater, play area, and wooded grounds available to the

community?  

1)      In The Short-term: (Within the next year)

·         Develop strategy for storage options, and make building more inviting by de-cluttering and updating décor to appeal to your target community audience. 

·         Consider the outdoor spaces that are being underutilized such as the labyrinth, amphitheater, play area, and wooded acreage. What can you do to improve these spaces and make them available for reaching out to the community? Consider joining the move to urban gardens by offering community garden plots on your property and joining the “Living Green” environmental movement within the city.

·         Evaluate the current use of space within the building and determine if adjustments in how space is currently used could increase capacity and improve your overall ministry.

2)      In The Long-term: (Within two years)

·         Reconstitute a building committee to examine space needs to accommodate programing aligned with your emerging vision, including additional meeting areas/classroom space, expansion of the fellowship hall, air conditioning the whole building, addressing issues of accessibility, confidential office space, and larger long-term storage.

·         Also consider the needs of the drama ministry, an exciting new ministry that could engage the community if the appropriate space and equipment were provided.

CONCLUSIONS

We believe the Eden Prairie UMC is an engaged, healthy, resourced congregation with great potential to serve with its community, making a difference in the lives of countless persons.   We also believe that the authentic welcome, genuine acceptance, unconditional love, and that second-home feel that guests are receiving when they first visit Eden Prairie are what many people in the community need and are searching for. 

You are a community of faith that “walks its talk”, you live out your values; you become God’s love in the world. We see it in your support and involvement with PROP, your public declaration and work as a Reconciling Congregation, your witness in serving free-trade coffee, all the small groups and classes dedicated to expanded study & learning which then leads you to action, your stewardship and care for the earth, your youth’s concern for poverty and homelessness and your active participation in ecumenical ministries which fosters greater understanding of persons of other faiths. But most importantly, through and in your worship, service, music, fellowship, small groups, in your sense of intimacy & caring for one another and in the quietness and safety of your setting – people do have an awesome experience of God. Some have called your church the best-kept secret of Eden Prairie. It’s time to let people in on the secret and invite them to share in the uniqueness of all that the Eden Prairie Church has to offer.    

We have found your leadership to be both future and outward orientated, while they recognize this present state of stability – they are not being complacent. They know without a renewed vision and a strategic plan for the future Eden Prairie Church could easily begin to decline. The Healthy Church Initiative Team has done an outstanding job of prayer, self-study, listening, communications, fostering greater ownership, and discerning God’s call to the future. The arrival of Pastor Dan has brought renewed energy and enthusiasm, a personal people-centered style, and a passion to help the church move positively into the future for which God is calling it. Therefore many see this moment of strength as the right time to trust God, to step out in faith, to change and to begin a new lifecycle of outreach, vitality, greater healthy, focused mission, and growth. This plan calls you once again be out in your community striving to have holy conversations, listening to neighbors,  serving with them to address felt-needs, and inviting them to share in the goodness of the Eden Prairie Church. Growth is a by-product of excellence in mission, vision, and effective ministry. Growth is not a threat to intimacy; growing congregations find new ways for people to continue to experience intimacy in various size groups, activities, and service. Accountability and evaluation are elements of a healthy congregation; therefore we expect Eden Prairie UMC to have and monitor growth targets. We understand that the Eden Prairie community can be a place of transitions – with people coming and going. Still our hope for you is that over the next five years your average worship attendance will grow by 8% per year thus by the end of 2017 your average worship attendance would exceed 250. Likewise, we hope you would always add new and varied small groups to your offerings, remembering that a church needs new and various size groups where people can form relationships and experience that transforming love of God.

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Notes:

¹ Consider neighborhood walks, windshield tours, group bike rides and hosting community focus groups. Call together the members of EPUMC who already

   live in the mission field and conduct a focus group with them asking about hurts, hopes, and needs of the community and who else in the community the

   church should be talking with. Survey the existing congregations within Eden Prairie, asking them what ministries/services they are providing to the residents

   of your mission field.

² There is an Annual Investing in Congregations Grant Cycle which begins in June with grant deadlines due by end of October 2012. Please refer to the MN

   Annual Conference website for details www.minnesotaumc.org look under Our Ministry: Congregational Development.

³ Discovery Your Spiritual Type by Corrine Ware; A Shifting Spirituality: What Newcomers Are Looking For & Spiritual Diversity Worksheet by Dan Dick

⁴ Kaleidoscope Bible Study and Mutual Invitation Sheets Attached